Pop Culture Blog

TV recap: “Community” – ‘Asian Population Studies’

For one thing, it’s going up against juggernaut American Idol for the first time. I don’t know how much those audiences crossover, but there must be some people out there who love ‘em both.

Also, Community is now the lead-in for a not-unheard-of but certainly unexpected three hour block of comedy from NBC. In the fall, Community benefited from being the returning rookie of the year. The show hadn’t lost its edge, like many thought about The Office and 30 Rock, and it wasn’t unproven like freshman comedy Outsourced. Now it has to hold its own among five other shows, one of which (Parks and Recreation) is similar to Community in that it’s critically acclaimed and just hitting its stride.

But if there’s one show that’s not in danger of losing its distinct voice, it’s Community.
As you can guess from the episode’s title, “Asian Population Studies,” the show finally dealt with the fact that Shirley and Chang slept together during the Halloween that no one remembers and that Shirley is pregnant with what could be Chang’s child.

As the gang returns from winter break, Shirley reveals that shes gotten back with her ex-husband (Malcolm-Jamal Warner in a fantastic Cosby sweater) and Annie announces her new crush: Rich, the perfect doctor from last season’s pottery episode. Jealous, Jeff fights to keep Rich out of the group. He hosts a party to find a new study group member, but he can’t compete with Rich’s cheery demeanor and homemade kettle corn. (“That’s a fun time snack!”) He realizes that the evil you know is better than the evil you don’t, and gets the gang to vote in Chang as the newest member of the group.

Angered by the possibility of less kettle corn, Pierce tells Shirley about her potential Chang baby. Shirley’s ex, Andre, seems like he’s about to leave her again, but he ultimately decides to stick around and help her raise the child regardless of the father’s identity. Inspired, Jeff runs to Rich’s apartment to ask for lessons on how to be a good guy.

You have to admire Community for being the only show on the Thursday night lineup that can get away with an ending that is sentimental without being saccharine, while still being funny and contributing to character development. This episode won’t make my all-time list of Community episodes, but I like the plot threads it introduced and the joke-per-minute ratio was still quite strong, at least in the first act.